, 1887-12-16
CONFEDERATE CADETS.
MILITARY INSTITUTE BOYS AT THE
BATTLE OF NEW MARKET.

BAL LIE Of NEW mRhkE !.
A Virginia Academy Which Turned Out
n Great Many Confederate Officers.
Heroic and Victorious Charge of Mere
Boys-Rout of Federal Vctorans.
When the civil war broke out there was
an institution situated in Lexington, Va,
which was ut nat time the only dis
tinctively military academy in the south.
1t had been organized in 1889 by the state
of Virginia upon the basis of the closest
possible resemblance to the United States
Military academy at West Point, and
growing steadily in the public esteem, it
had sent out, prior to the opening of the
war, 400 graduates. When the great con-
fict became imminent and certain the
superintendent of the Virginia military
institute, with the most of its officers,
among whom was the then unknown Maj.
Thomas J.. Jackson, resigned their aca-
demic positions and were assigned to duty
in the provisional army of Virginia.
When the state seeded the sagacious eye
Of the president OF the C~onfederacy fore
saw the necessity that there should be kept
in active operation some institution which
should supply the southern armies with
trained officers, us was done for the Fed
ernl armies by West Point: and the officers
of the school were, for the most part, or
dercd back and directed to reopen the
institute. Only one proof need be ad-
duced as to the efficiency with which this
appointed task was discharged by the
school. When the war closed one-tenth
of the Confederate armies had been under
the command of pupils of the institute,
embracing three major generals, thirty
brigadier generals, sixty colonies, fifty
lieutenant colonies, thirty majors, 1876
captains and over 200 lieutenants.
In 1864 the section of the valley of Vir-
ginia in which the institute was situated
was threatened by the army of Gen. Franz
Sigel, and the superintendent of the insti-
tute was ordered by Gen. Breckenridge, in
command of the Valley district, to march
the cadets to his assistance. The corps
embraced two hundred and fifty boys,and
on the 18th of May, 1864, left Lexington
with n section of artillery to act as a re-
serve for Gen. Breckenridge, If posi-
bic; to be used freely in battle, if neces-
sary. On Sunday, the 18th May, the
forces of Gen. Breckenridge met the
urmy of Gen. Sigel, near the village of
New Market. The exigencies of the con-
flict soon convinced Gen. Breckenridge
that the cadets must be sent forward.
They were ordered to the front, and
charging In superb order upon a Federal
DitlcIS anu us lnLuuITy uppOrI captured
the battery and won the glory of the Fed
eral defeat. OF the two hundred and
twenty-five who made this charge fifty
six fell, dead or wounded. This gallant
charge by a battalion of mere boys has
been made the theme of u most stirring
and vivid sketch by the Hon. John s..
Wise, of Virginia.
a few weeks after the battle of New
Market DIR. Hunter Mcguire, formerly
chief medical director of "Stonewall'
Jackson's army corps and the surgeon
who attended him after his fatal wound
Mt Charlottesville, made an official visit
of inspection to he hospitals established
in Harrisonburg, Va, for the care of the
wounded sent from the field of New Mar
kct. Among the convalescent he found
n United States colonel of volunteers, who
had been seriously injured in thel recent
fight. DIR. Mcclure expressed to this
officer his regret that the impoverished
condition of the southern service and the
total want of hospital stores had made it
impossible to make the wounded prisoners
more comfortable, adding that the
Confederate wounded were equally strait
ened. The officer replied that he had re-
ceived every needed attention and had
been treated with marked kindness. He
then said, in substance, rs follows:
doctor, l would hardly seem to be q
fit object for congratulation, wounded as
l am ana n prisoner; yet l do congratu-
late myself that l was present at the
battle of New Market. You are surprised?
l will explain myself. l had, before the
war began, been something. of n reader,
and especially interested in military his
tory, and l had formed II very distinct
conception of the manner in which dis
ciplined troops might be expected to be-
nave on tn. field of battle. But in all my
observation during the three years of the
war | had seen nothing that correspondent
with my expectations. l had been with
some of Il best troops in battle, and 1
had seen the choicest Confederate troops.
On both sides l had witnessed the fight
ing of brave and heroic men, but nothing
answering to my ideal of war. | had
never looked on the perfect union of
morale and discipline until l saw it in
that petty fight Mt New Market.
"When that battle opened was with
my regiment in a strong position which l
had selected for them behind the crest of
n hill, on the front side of which was the
field of wheat through which the Cadet
battalion charged. l had made my men
lie down and / do not hin the Confed-
crate troops knew we were there. l saw
the cadets form in line of battle and ad-
vance. AS soon MS they moved forward
the battery which my regimen was sup
porting opened on them with grape and
canister. They closed the gap torn in
their ranks and came ON touching elbow,
as If they were on drill and we practicing
upon them with blank cartridges. As
they approached us we opened with
muskctry Mt close range, but they came
straight on. In n momcn | found myself
on the ground with this wound. When /
raised myself up the cadet line was pass
ing over the ground on which my rcgi-
mcnt had stood. My men were not
towards; they were as good soldiers as
any of our volunteer troops. But one
might as well have attempted to stop a
bombshell with his bare hand as to arrest
the charge of those regulars with my
troops. l am glad l was there, for then /
saw wal. james Henderson Smith in
Philadelphia Times.
Afraid of Electricity.